Gold Coast!

Yikes! I guess I haven't been on here for awhile! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by in the last couple of months. So to catch up, first from all the way back in June was my self-assigned long weekend to the Gold Coast. Kurtis was there over 2 weeks on business, and I was stuck in Sydney (dead of winter: coldish and dreary), so I decided to pop up for the weekend!

I don't have photos to prove it, but I rented a car at the airport, all by myself, and drove for the very first time since coming to Australia!!! On the other side of the road, and the other side of the car was weird, but I got the hang of it right away... Not to the comfort of my driving at home (I wasn't talking on the phone, doing my make-up and drinking a coffee all at the same time), though I was able to simultaneously listen to the radio and the GPS (which I taught myself to use!), despite the GPS lady's weird Australian-accented computerized voice. The car was a small, yellow, stick-shift: an Australian car brand called the Holden - perfect for driving with the windows down in the hot, sunny Gold Coast!

Even though people in the Gold Coast were bundled up (who swims with a toque on?!) because of the winter "chill",  I was more than happy to strap on a bikini and catch some rays in the 23 degrees! Coming from a damp and chilly 10 degrees in Sydney, 23 degrees felt like an amazing tropical vacation! And the best part of being a cold-immune Canadian gal: I had the pool all to myself.

The weekend consisted of a stay at the perfect Sheraton Mirage, with a room overlooking a gorgeous manicured garden and the crystal clear ocean. We did a bit of sightseeing, but mainly I just sat by the poolside relaxing and sunning, took long beach walks (beaches further than you can even see), did a little bit of shopping, and ate arguably the best food I've had since coming to Australia (i.e. oyster caesar shots and the best vegetarian breakfast I've ever had). Oh how I miss Canadian cuisine! Sooo, pretty much my idea of the ideal weekend.

It was the perfect mid-term, mid-winter getaway. I left refreshed and full of some much needed vitamin D!